Minnesota guard Lindsay Whalen (13) drives towards the basket against Atlanta guard Angel McCoughtry (35) in the first quarter of the second game of the 2013 WNBA Championship at the Target Center, Tuesday, October 8, 2013. (Pioneer Press: John Autey)

Minnesota forward Maya Moore (23) drives towards the basket against Atlanta forward Aneika Henry (13) in the second quarter of the second game of the 2013 WNBA Championship at the Target Center, Tuesday, October 8, 2013. (Pioneer Press: John Autey)

Minnesota forward Seimone Augustus (33) scores two in front of Atlanta forwards Aneika Henry (13), left, and Le'coe Willingham (43) in the second quarter of the second game of the 2013 WNBA Championship at the Target Center, Tuesday, October 8, 2013. (Pioneer Press: John Autey)

Even when they aren’t at their best, the Lynx can still win big, which might be a scary thought for the Atlanta Dream, who head home with a 2-0 deficit in their best-of-five WNBA Finals series with Minnesota.

“If I were the (opposition), I’d certainly think so,” Maya Moore said Tuesday night after the Lynx dismantled Atlanta 88-63 in Game 2 at Target Center.

Afterward, the Lynx groused about turnovers, miscues and errant shots.

The blemishes, though, were hard to see for a sellout crowd of 12,313. Seimone Augustus scored 20 points, and Lindsay Whalen and Moore added 14 each to give the Lynx a chance to wrap up their second WNBA title in three seasons in Game 3 Thursday in Duluth, Ga.

“In spurts, we were good,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said.

The Lynx committed 20 turnovers, which led to 25 points by the Dream, who are on a threshold of sorts, too. Atlanta has been in the championship series three of the past four years but in the previous two trips came away empty.

The Lynx also were gritting their teeth about missing 9 of 31 free throws.

“Of course, it wasn’t our best game,” Whalen said. “We had a lot of turnovers, some miscues and things like that. But all things we know we can fix and clean up. We’ll watch the video. We’ll learn from it. But I think it just shows … just our ability (to survive) when there are rough patches.”

Power forward Rebekkah Brunson was grim-faced at her locker afterward.

“We’ve got some things we really need to clean up before we go down there for Game 3,” she said. “We can’t be satisfied. We haven’t accomplished anything yet. We still have plenty of work to do.”

You will have a tough time convincing the Dream that the Lynx stunk on their home court in what could be the last time fans get a chance to see them play this season. Minnesota, 6-0 in the postseason, shot 56 percent and used various runs to offset Atlanta’s vow of getting meaner and physical after getting blown out by 25 in Game 1.

Said guard Alex Bentley: “They are bringing their ‘A’ game. We just need to bring ours.”

Minnesota built leads of 11 points after the first quarter and 15 by the half. It would climb as high as 26 behind textbook pick-and-rolls, soft jumpers off screens and athleticism in the open court. Atlanta, meanwhile, shot a paltry 35.8 percent and battled foul trouble.

In vowing to get more physical after a meek performance in Game 1, the Dream scratched, clawed and sent bodies on the floor. Angel McCoughtry, one of the league’s premier scorers, was the most visibly frustrated of Atlanta’s players. After going 6 of 24 in Game 1, she was just 5 of 18 but led the Dream with 18 points. She fouled out with 3:54 remaining in regulation.

Atlanta is convinced a change of scenery will change their fortunes.

“We’re not giving up,” guard Armintie Herrington said. “It doesn’t matter how many we are down. We’re going to go into it just like we always do. We’re going to play for each other and play hard and try to get a W. Nobody’s giving up in this locker room. We still have each other’s back and we still want a championship.”

Two years ago, the Lynx clinched the WNBA title on Atlanta’s Philips Arena.

“We know that Atlanta will bring everything,” Augustus said. “They will throw the kitchen sink. They will do all they can to avoid elimination.”

Said Williams: “There is really no panic mode. It is our turn to go home.”

As you comment, please be respectful of other commenters and other viewpoints. Our goal with article comments is to provide a space for civil, informative and constructive conversations. We reserve the right to remove any comment we deem to be defamatory, rude, insulting to others, hateful, off-topic or reckless to the community. See our full terms of use here.

More in Sports

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer has one significant restriction for Sunday’s game at Jacksonville: Don’t get bowled over on the sideline. Indications Friday were that Zimmer is likely to be on the sideline rather than in the box for his first game back since undergoing emergency eye surgery last week. But he needs to be careful. “The doctor just doesn’t want...

Tre Jones is a prime candidate to post Russell Westbrook-like numbers for Apple Valley (2-0) this season. Like the Oklahoma City point guard, Jones is a triple-double possibility on any given evening. He already notched one: a 29-point, 13-rebound, 11-assist performance in Apple Valley’s win over defending Class A state champion Minneapolis North last Saturday. Jones followed that up with...

Second-year receiver Stefon Diggs has a chance to join a pair of legends in the Vikings’ record book. The only players in Minnesota history to have 100 catches in a season are hall of famer Cris Carter and Randy Moss, who figures to join Carter in the Canton, Ohio, shrine soon. Now, Diggs also could get to the century mark....

Vikings defensive tackle Tom Johnson said Friday he has stated his case about a penalty and fine he calls “B.S.” Johnson was fined $18,231 for a roughing-the-passer penalty on Nov. 20 on Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer, and he appealed. Johnson’s case was heard over the phone Thursday by an appeals officer jointly appointed by the NFL and the NFL Players...

You probably won’t be surprised to hear the one NFL rule Vikings kicker Kai Forbath would most like to see changed. “Put the (extra point) back to where it was. Oh, yeah,” he said. Forbath is a not a fan of the rule change to a longer point-after conversation attempt put into play last season on an experimental basis and...

Vikings center Joe Berger was ruled out Friday for Sunday’s game at Jacksonville, the second straight game he will miss because of a concussion. After practicing Tuesday and Wednesday, Berger sat out Thursday. He stretched with the team before Friday’s workout, then left the field with athletic trainer Eric Sugarman. Also ruled out were safety Harrison Smith (ankle), who will...